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So apparently I got put with the professors that do not allow laptops. After I was told I had to have one, bought a new one, and a nice new laptop bag to carry it around in. Are there any people out there who don't use laptops who might lend some advice?

I would suggest a shiny pen and new lined notebook.

Take notes with a shiny pen and lined paper, but most important, pay attention in class and engage the material. Think. That's the point of the laptop ban.

That sucks. I guess I didn't realize there were ls professors that did that. You could suggest to your professors that they start living in this millennium, but I'm not sure how well that would go over...

I've only been a law student for a week, but I'm taking notes by hand and it seems fine. I haven't felt the need to take a ton of notes, so I'm definitely able to keep up. Obviously hand-written notes are less organized, but you can type them up quickly after class later if you want to, I suppose.

Taking the notes by hand is no problem. The problem comes at the middle to end of the semester when you're trying to compile them into an outline. That process took twice as long with all kinds of missing info (I type faster than I write). About half my teachers in 1L banned laptops. I was very angry after making the investment at the law school's behest.

Basically I found that when a professor got tenure, he or she started banning them. They hate them in general.

Wow I'm surprised that all of your professors would feel this way...what school?

Just take notes by hand and type them up after class. This forces you to go over your notes and its a good way to get a sense of how well you understand the material. Think of it as a blessing in disguise. I do this for two of my classes, one where the professor banned laptops and the other where they're discouraged. Granted, it's only been a week, but its working well so far. Might even do it for all of my classes.

I've taken a no-laptop class; I know I pay way more attention than I do when I'm using mine. That said, I hate the policy. My handwriting is horrible and I hate having to later transcribe my handwritten notes onto the computer for an outline. I looked into a Livescribe PULSE smartpen, but since I only have a year left I decided against it (plus the recording feature is at odds with the school policy on recording class).

Get a Sony MP3 IC Recorder... They're about $50, but completely worth it for recording lectures... You can save hundreds of hours in 6 folders on the recorder (conveniently, one for each class), or plug it into your laptop and upload the lectures...

A lot of professors don't like unauthorized recordings of their lectures.

Anyway....a notebook and a pen will do the trick.

I used a laptop last year and I've actually switched to a hand written note taking.....change of pace.

the fledgling wrote:Just take notes by hand and type them up after class. This forces you to go over your notes and its a good way to get a sense of how well you understand the material. Think of it as a blessing in disguise. I do this for two of my classes, one where the professor banned laptops and the other where they're discouraged. Granted, it's only been a week, but its working well so far. Might even do it for all of my classes.

Yea, I have been thinking about spending some time each friday to look over, condese, and type up my notes. I go to Texas; it is not a school wide ban or anything. From what I heard from upper classmen it is actually rather rare that laptops are banned. Maybe the professors are moving towards a no laptop policy for 1L classes, or maybe its just bad luck. I'm sure taking notes by hand will be fine, if not better. Its just not fun to have your plans ruinned I guess.

section 4? reveal yourself!

Neverknowsbest wrote:Yea, I have been thinking about spending some time each friday to look over, condese, and type up my notes. I go to Texas; it is not a school wide ban or anything. From what I heard from upper classmen it is actually rather rare that laptops are banned. Maybe the professors are moving towards a no laptop policy for 1L classes, or maybe its just bad luck. I'm sure taking notes by hand will be fine, if not better. Its just not fun to have your plans ruinned I guess.

Yeah, I hear you. Especially since you bought a laptop specifically for law school. At my school, the upperclassmen didn't think it was too weird for a professor to ban computers, but it doesn't seem common. So far all the professors have mentioned laptop rules, and the ones that do allow it have asked us to either sit in the back (noise from typing) or lower the screen when we're called on (so no one feeds us answers).

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? ... id=1078740

Thank god he isn't my Tax prof.

I have a prof whos doing this. Although in exchange, she's having the TAs write the notes and then post them online after class...

I had read that Law School students are the biggest whiners of all grad students, but until I started school last week and have been reading some of these threads I didn't really believe it.

I for one support professors banning laptops in class. After sitting near the back of the classroom on the first day of class and seeing people checking their facebook, chatting on IM, etc. I realized why they would do that.
Are you all that disrespectful and lazy that you can't use an ounce of discipline to pay attention and not surf the net during class?
I use my laptop constantly while studying to write briefs and between class to check TWEN etc. But there is no reason anyone needs to use a laptop in class.

Do it the way lawyers and students have done it for hundreds of years before you. Pen and paper.

A question for some of you younger folks,
Did you use laptops during undergrad?
I never had a computer in undergrad and did all my work by hand, then when it came time to type papers I took all my handwritten stuff to the computer lab.

I'm in UG now and I find that many student who do in fact own laptops and bring them to class are not really paying attention, but have found ways to circumvent their preoccupation with the internet (i.e. Mac has a voice recorder attached to their Word program). I also find that many students who opt to write notes with pen and paper can perform higher or lower than those who use laptops. Point being what is the big deal? A computer doesn't give you any advantage, it's still up to you to do good nonetheless. I've probably deviated from the topic a bit, but this is my position on it.

I take notes by hand. Seriously, it's fine. Learn to write faster and you'll probably end up writing less frivolous stuff down. I know I pay better attention without a laptop.

Also, even if you don't use a laptop in class, you still need one. You'll want it studying at the library or for other things while not at home. It's still a good investment.

sophie316 wrote:I have a prof whos doing this. Although in exchange, she's having the TAs write the notes and then post them online after class...

word.

JMD.USMC wrote:I had read that Law School students are the biggest whiners of all grad students, but until I started school last week and have been reading some of these threads I didn't really believe it.

I for one support professors banning laptops in class. After sitting near the back of the classroom on the first day of class and seeing people checking their facebook, chatting on IM, etc. I realized why they would do that.
Are you all that disrespectful and lazy that you can't use an ounce of discipline to pay attention and not surf the net during class?
I use my laptop constantly while studying to write briefs and between class to check TWEN etc. But there is no reason anyone needs to use a laptop in class.

Do it the way lawyers and students have done it for hundreds of years before you. Pen and paper.

A question for some of you younger folks,
Did you use laptops during undergrad?
I never had a computer in undergrad and did all my work by hand, then when it came time to type papers I took all my handwritten stuff to the computer lab.

I've been out of school for a few years. Laptops were a oddities in the classroom when I was in undergrad. I typed outlines from my handwritten notes, emailed papers to myself so I could run to school and print them in the lab, and took plenty of those three-hour, wrist-destroying exams with pen and paper. Incidentally, I also had to walk to school uphill both ways barefoot in the driving snow.

After taking my first laptop-assisted class this summer, I'd never go back. Note taking software makes the organization easy, I can correct things without wasting space or much time, I can easily drop illustrations in or make charts on the fly, and there's no paper to deal with or to lose. As far as the distraction element is concerned, turning off the wireless antenna tends to take care of it. If you really can't resist Facebook during a lecture, you'd probably be doodling if you didn't have the computer. It's a useful tool that I find actually helps me keep up with the lecture, as I can type much faster than I write.

Moreover, many schools have laptop requirements for taking exams. If students have no choice but buy a $1000+ piece of equipment on top the exorbitant cost of tuition and books, we really ought to be allowed to use them to their full potential, including taking and keeping notes.

My professors have varying views on laptops, but the professor I most agree with has a policy along the lines of "I don't like them, but you're an adult and it's your seat and while you should ashamed of yourself if you don't pay attention in class, you have a right to do whatever you damn well please with it as long as you're not distracting anybody else."

I hate this argument about banning laptops because some people use them for non-class activities. Why does the diligent student who just takes better notes get penalized for this class of slackers? Why do I have to lower myself to the least common denominator to make sure that jackass pays attention in class?

Honestly, if you'd like to spend $200 worth of class time surfing the web and not paying attention to the professor, so much the better! That's one less person I have to compete against. If he is called on and is unprepared, he'll suffer the embarrassment, not me.

I am an adult, and I should be allowed to choose what system of note-taking works best for me--not have it dictated to me based on the internet surfing slackers in class.

Why must everything these days be a paternalistic state?

Hence the reason I am thrilled with my new law school where every professor allows laptops.

I had a couple of professors who banned laptops in their classes 1L year, and I honestly respected them for it. Yeah, everyone is an adult and should have the self-control to not surf the internet, chat, etc. during class, but it just doesn't turn out that way.

I think there's also the temptation to write down everything when you're typing...at least that's what I'm tempted to do since I type fairly fast and am used to taking dictation. At the same time, many law school exams are heavily based on class lectures, so it's better to have more detailed notes.

In any event, if the laptop is completely banned from the class, everyone is in the same boat and you're not hurt by the curve...which is the only thing that matters, right?

but I am hurt ultimately because my optimal method for taking notes is taken away from me based on the actions of a few.

The people who prefer to take notes by hand don't have their optimal method taken away from them. So if many people started doodling on their handwritten notes instead of paying attention, would that be a sufficient reason to ban handwritten notes as well?